Exclusive: Lee County sheriff's promotions stir debate

Has added 60 officers at cost of $3.7 million

May 30, 2011

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Since his election in 2004, Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott has added 60 ranking officers to his staff.

Those promotions and the $3.7 million Scott used to fund them came about although he placed the rest of his 1,500-employee staff on a wage freeze in 2008.

Lee’s sheriff’s office has had the biggest jump in the number of ranking officers when compared with sheriff’s offices in five counties similar in size, area and demographics to Lee — Volusia, Sarasota, Polk, Pasco and Collier.

The advancements were necessary, Scott said, to supervise road and corrections deputies, who have grown by 34 percent since he became sheriff.

And a 94,000-resident, or 23 percent, upswing in Lee’s population since 2004 prompted growth in his agency, which Scott said has created safer streets and a 23 percent drop in crime.

Scott’s decisions created resentment among employees, and prompted a county commissioner and heads of taxpayer groups to clamor for more cuts and oversight of the sheriff’s hiring policies and spending.

“This is not a battle zone,” said Ron Pure, head of the local Taxpayer Action Group. “Nevertheless he has equipped his department as if he were in Detroit, Newark or some parts of Manhattan.”

On Wednesday, Scott will release his budget proposal to the county commission. This precedes workshops, in which he will discuss his budget, set for later this summer.

A third of the county’s operating budget funds the sheriff’s costs, which have doubled in the past decade. Each county resident pays 67 cents a day for the sheriff’s office’s services.

The sheriff has said his budget will be less than the $152.5 million Lee County paid this year, which funds road patrols, the jail and court officers. He sliced 4 percent from his 2009-10 budget last year.

One of his cost-cutting measures is a buyout offer 50 employees opted to take. Though sheriff’s office’s staff has not estimated savings, the move could save the agency $2 million, if none of the positions is filled.

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It also could reduce supervisor positions by 7 percent and staff by 3 percent.

Military standard

When it comes to explaining the promotions, Scott points to a military standard: five soldiers to one sergeant.

“In any organization, generally speaking, the more people you have the more management you need,” he said.

The position change brings more money. Deputies earn between $35,000-$62,000 this year; sergeants make between $50,000-$81,000. And the officers could earn six-figure salaries by the time they reach rank of captain.

Although sergeants serve a supervisory role, they also work the road, watching over crime scenes and investigations. Lieutenants and captains are mid-level managers; colonels, majors, the chief deputy and the sheriff constitute the executive team. In Lee County, there are about six deputies per sergeant.

But whom Scott promoted has raised questions of favoritism among the newly formed sergeant’s union, said Rich Roberts, spokesman for the International Union of Police Associates.

Its members believe Scott passed over senior officers for promotions and did not consider training in his decisions, Roberts said.

In 2010, Scott promoted two lieutenants to captain who had less than a combined six years of experience at their rank. He gave both $15,000 raises.

Roberts said the union did not wish to name specific instances. But “they have serious reservations about the process,” Roberts said.

To become sergeants, deputies take an exam and are ranked based on scores. Scott said he has remained faithful to this list, and when it comes to promotions higher than sergeant, he bases his decision on his knowledge of their job performance.

Similar counties

As for the five similar-sized counties, Collier and Volusia have a smaller ratio than Lee, one to five. The others’ are bigger, with Polk’s being largest — one to nine.

Collier Sheriff Kevin Rambosk declined comment, saying the issue would be taken up at upcoming budget hearings.

“That would be the most appropriate time to discuss,” he wrote in an email.

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Scott acknowledges other sheriffs may run their agencies differently because no set standards exist. But he stands by the promotions, pointing to a crime rate that has declined 23 percent since he took office. That suggests his agency might be the right size, he said.

Scott said he will always err on the side of having more deputies on the road than fewer, and more deputies means more supervision.

Sheriff’s offices in Sarasota, Polk and Collier counties have reduced ranking positions, though numbers of deputies have increased.

All five counties have seen their populations go up as well. Every one has had a crime drop, except Pasco, which reported a 2 percent increase from 2004-2009.

Ratio questioned

Jon Cisky struggled for words after reviewing a breakdown of Scott’s staff.

“You’ve stumped the professor,” said the south Fort Myers resident who is a tenured criminal justice professor at Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan. He served two terms as a Michigan state senator.

Cisky said the standard ratio he’d used during 40 years in law enforcement is one sergeant for every seven deputies. And he added it doesn’t make sense for Scott to promote and have as big an agency as he does during a recession.

Ron Hyman, who heads the watchdog group the Golden Goose Committee, wants a review of the sheriff’s budget.

“I don’t think the sheriff is justified in spending the amount he does each year,” Hyman said, particularly when comparing a 23 percent rise in population with a 36 percent rise in ranking officers.

Commissioner Brian Bigelow urged the sheriff to think of more ways to increase revenues, such as contracting services on Fort Myers Beach and Cape Coral. He stressed a need for an analysis on law enforcement spending.

“It’s necessary for the county management to say either you show us the money or we don’t show you the money this year,” Bigelow said.

But Commissioner John Manning is convinced the sheriff realizes the harsh reality of the situation, pointing to buyouts.